Different Ways To End Your Novel

 

Most writers will agree about the importance of having a strong ending. It needs to impact the reader in a way that it will satisfy them. Think about the books you have read, have you ever finished a book and end up flipping through the last pages to see if there is more to this ending? I have, and it’s rather annoying because it makes me forget about the book I read. There are of course other books where the ending is strong and makes me sometimes think about it years later. 

Here are some ways you could finish your novel if you are finding it hard to think how to end it. 

Closing The Circle: 

→ The ending will remind the reader of the start. Perhaps you could return to the place where they started. Or a sentence that you wrote at the start, you could write it again at the end but your protagonist has a different point of view on it.

→ E.g. If you started your novel with a question, it would be perfect to end the novel with the protagonist thinking about this question, and answering the question differently than they would at the start.

The Pay-Off:

→ This can be seen to be used commonly in romance novels, because at the end the two love interests end up with one another. 

→ However, this ending doesn't always have to mean the ‘Happy Ever After’ ending, but a satisfying one.

→ For example, in a murder mystery, figuring out who is the killer is a satisfying ending, because it means the mystery has been solved.

Epilogue: 

→ In many cases for me, when reading a book or watching a film, by the end I do sometimes wonder what happened to these characters after? An epilogue would be perfect to use in this case. 

→ An epilogue will be able to fast forward into the future, and answer the questions your reader may have. 

→ For example, if your novel is about a person grieving over the death of someone close to them, the ending before the epilogue will hopefully show that they are learning to live without this person. However, the epilogue can then fast forward into the future by a year, and we can see how different this person’s life is now after everything they’ve been through. 

Cliffhanger: 

→ These types of endings are very common for the first and middle books of a series. Therefore, if your novel is part of a series, I would advise you to end it on a cliffhanger. 

→ A cliffhanger needs to leave the reader to want to know more, which will help them buy the next book of the series. 

→ However, remember, the cliffhanger needs to be set in the same tone as your novel. If it’s a romance, keep those loving elements, yet if it’s thriller, keep those frightening and scary elements. 

In my opinion, I believe when you do start planning your novel, knowing the ending does help. Knowing if you want to end it on a cliffhanger, will make sure you keep that element of suspense throughout the novel. Same as if you want it to be a pay-off ending, you will write your novel in a different tone and make sure that what happens in your novel has to lead to this pay-off. 

Remember, to trust yourself. Don’t worry, even if you do have a plan for the ending, it is fine if it does change when you do write the ending. You know your novel better than anyone else, therefore you know how it should end.